Heroes work diligently to rid the world of evil. It is their goal to make a world that is better for everyone to live in. Well, everyone but those they see as evil. The warlords, necromancers, and cult leaders also have their goals of making the world a better place.
Most role-playing games (RPGs) are focused on playing heroes. For Coin & Blood by Alan Bahr takes the typical format of RPGs and spins it around. The concept of the game is to play an antihero. Those men and women who survive and thrive by swindling, thieving, manipulating, and murdering.
For Coin & Blood is subtitled Grimdark Old School Roleplaying, and that promise is met. For Coin & Blood was designed to explore the underside of human behavior. Giving players the opportunity to be in a world where they are the ones who are despised and hunted down by the heroes. The game deals with mature themes and as such, each gaming group and game master (GM) looking at running adventures in this setting should consider the implications for whom they have at the table. You have been forewarned.
Review
For Coin & Blood was developed using the open gaming license (OGL) and gives a feel of the original style of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. For players who prefer the counting up of AC, to hit, etc., there are also rules for creating an increasing scale instead of a descending one. Like the earlier versions, there is a higher fatality rate expected for the player-characters—you are the evil ones people want to stop by either death or incarceration (those murder-hobos usually prefer killing everything).
The rules are easy to read and understand. With our first reading of For Coin & Blood, 4 of us were able to understand of the game, create characters, and then run an encounter. One of our players has no experience with earlier versions of DnD and had no problems with the information.
For Coin & Blood simplifies some of the rules allowing for a quicker start and faster play. Six attributes are created in the same fashion as the parent system. There is only one saving throw instead of 3 or more. Hit points are the constitution score and go up 1 point a level. During play most every dice roll is done using a d20 and d6s.
Although the game is designed for playing the evil side of humanity, the book doesn't go into anything explicitly. There are no horrific details of what characters can do, nor does the art reflect anything of that nature. Honestly, you could play these characters as heroes instead of antiheroes (villains see themselves as the hero of their own story). You also don't have to worry about leaving the book open with concern about who might see it.
The front half (pages 13–71) of the book is about character creation and general rules. The back portion (pages 74–119) is about designing adventures, descriptions of encounters, treasures, and other information for the GM. Nearly everything presented will be familiar with players who have played fantasy based RPGs.
Character Creation
For Coin & Blood uses a score of 3–18 for 6 attributes. Again, these are the ones DnD players are familiar with. It is designed with only one race, humans, and there are no alignments. After rolling up your attributes you choose a class.
There are 7 classes to choose from: assassin, blackguard, cutpurse, knight, magus, priest, and sellsword. The names when taken with consideration of the general premise of the game provide almost all of the information you need when making a decision. A character's class provides some benefits, restrictions, and a saving throw. Starting wealth for everyone is 3d6x10.
Since the characters are creating a reputation, an additional score for Infamy (1d6) is added. Infamy is a representation of how well known the character's evil acts are known. Its progression is based on the deeds the character participates in.
Different character classes get experience point bonuses for high (15+) attributes and Infamy.
As characters advance, they gain benefits at a slower pace than many of the newer RPGs. They earn an additional hit point and they might gain a spell or a bonus to hit. When characters are a level or two within each other, they are comparable enough not to throw an adventure out of balance.
Flexibility
For Coin & Blood is clear about leaving a lot of room for GM alterations. Don't be shocked by the gaps in the descriptions and tables, they were done on purpose.
The simplification of rules allows for storytellers on both sides of the GM screen to create the adventures they want.
Overall
For players who are looking for a grimdark adventure setting, For Coin & Blood is an excellent choice.
We had fun playing For Coin & Blood. We enjoyed the quick start and faster pace. We liked the fact that we had enough options to create the characters we wanted without so many options that we needed an entire gaming session getting characters ready.
There is enough structure to give random outcomes without getting bogged down in what rule applies to what activity.
We decided For Coin & Blood is a game we will play again. A couple of our test group already have ideas for one shot adventures and a campaign setting.
You can find For Coin & Blood on DrivethruRPG (link).
Gallant Knight Games website (link).
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